A Way to Change the Future
by Psycho.Kitty.EtonMess
Summary: Follow Rose and the gang as they receive a series of books that can help them to change the future. First in the instalment.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

We were so close to finding them and yet still so far. We'd tracked them to Washington but it was there that we had lost the trail. They could be dead for all we knew. Six months had passed since there hadn't been a sighting of the two girls.

I looked back over the portfolio I had amassed over the past two years. Parts of it had come from the girls personal files and the other half of it from the two years we had spent looking. Tracking their movements through each city they moved through and wondering how they could move logically one moment and then recklessly the next.

Guardian Alberta Petrov had helped us to create a profile for each girl, which explained some of it. Rosemarie Hathaway was often ridiculously reckless, with a penchant for getting into trouble, while Princess Vasilisa Dragomir was sensible and controlled. However, there was no way to predict which way they were going to turn next. The one thing we could count on though was that Rosemarie was going to do her best to protect Vasilisa, Guardian Petrov had explained the girls extraordinary bond. The love and devotion that they shared meant that even if she couldn't stop a Strigoi, Rosemarie would make sure that Vasilisa had enough time to escape.

I sighed with frustration. We weren't getting any closer to finding them and the trails were already stone cold.

Jake, one of the guardians assigned to the detail, came into my office just then. "You've got mail." He said as he looked at the disarray of papers around the room. "Looks like you could do with a break."

I nodded, he was probably right. "Thanks, Jake. I'll come on through in a minute."

He paused before he left the doorway. "Look, mate," he started in his typically English fashion. "You're doing more than can be expected. We'll find them. It's not your fault they're not at the academy now and you can't compare this to Ivan." He stopped for a moment, studying my expression. "Plus we couldn't let Rosemarie Hathaway get away, not only does that girl have serious potential, she's one reckless, amusing troublemaker." He smiled widely and left the door frame heading back to the central communal room.

I stared once again at the papers in front of me before grunting with frustration and pushing away from the table harshly. Striding out into the communal living room, I headed towards the letters on the coffee table.

"You want a coffee, boss?" Steven asked me from the kitchen side of the area.

I looked up, taking a minute to decide. "I will, please." I answered and studied the handwriting on the letter. My grandmothers. What could she possibly want to tell me? She never sent her own letters. I split the envelope open and began reading the contents.

As I sat down on the sofa, Steven brought my coffee over to me. "Thanks." I muttered, distracted as a key fell out of the letter.

_Dearest Dimka _

_I see no point wasting my words here, I know where you can find those two girls you have been looking for. I saw the answer in one of my visions. You will find them shortly anyway, but I would like you to take this condition I am going to give you. A future is ahead of you that is full of uncertainty and sorrow. That is something I do not wish for you. _

_There are six books that could change all of this. _

_Some things must be changed, but some things are meant to be and so they shall, no matter how long or hard you run from them. Read these books with a set list of people and you shall have a happier and brighter future. Please, for me, do this one thing. _

_I have sent a letter to Vasilisa Dragomir and Rosemarie Hathaway, they will be unable to resist what I have put in front of them and will be at the place of reading at 3.30pm on the 28th of September. _

_You must go alone from wherever you are now. The others I have contacted separately, their curiosity will prod them to meet you there. _

_Be at 8 New Princeton Street at 3.40pm on the 28th September - any earlier and the girls will not yet be there. If they catch a glimpse of you, they will not enter. Here is the key for the house. _

_Good luck and may God be with you, _

_I will see you soon, _

_Your beloved Grandmother. _

Talk about an ultimation. Thanks Grandmother. I glanced up at the guardians around me. I finally had the chance to find the girls and she was telling me to leave my faithful companions behind.

"What's the problem, boss." Steven asked.

My eyes flickered to him. "You know I told you my grandmother had a certain view of the world?"

Several of the men nodded at me. I grimaced, looking back over the letter. It was easier to just read them the entire thing than try to explain it.

When I'd finished Jake nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "I think you should go for it. You've said before that your grandmother has never been wrong. We'll come with you to start off, not inside, but we'll guard from outside, someone needs to do that anyway. Wards and such-like will need to be put up."

As I hesitated, Steven joined in. "Plus don't you want to know what your future is?"

"After my grandmother predicted "_A future is ahead of you that is full of uncertainty and sorrow."_ No thanks, Steven."

"Mate, if it means we can go home a few days early, you are going to read those books." Jake stated. I sighed.

"We'd better get packing. I want to leave by 1am, four hours from now. I want us to have that place fully under our control by the time those two girls get there tomorrow. Understood?"

A full chorus of "Yes, sirs." rang out as I left to go back to the stacks of paper work I could, hopefully, put away for good. Taking one last look at the pictures of the two girls, I wonder how changed they would be after two years of living on their own.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Liss, I don't want to do this," My best friend of seventeen years told me. "It's unsafe, anything or one, could be in there. There could be someone watching us right now."

I didn't listen. I knew how much Rose missed the academy and if this solved all of our problems then I wanted to give something back to Rose. To let her finish her training and put herself first for once. She always made sure that I was okay, and it was time I took control and made her live a little for herself.

8 Princeton Street was directly opposite us and I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I pulled Rose across the street, she was looking at everything she could, taking it all in, incase we needed to make a run for it. I had a feeling it was going to turn out just fine.

I reached the front door as Rose pushed me aside. "You're not going in there first, anything could attack you. If you really want to do this, then I'm going first. Give me the key."

I rolled my eyes at her protectiveness, but gave her the key anyway. She'd insisted on waiting until 4pm as well, nobody had walked down the street without her seeing them. I gave her the key, she wouldn't give up or let me in until she had her own way.

She took it and then threw it as far as she could over several gardens. There was no way I could get it back.

"Rose!" I yelled. "What are you doing?"

"It's not safe, come on." She said and started dragging me down the garden path.

"You can't just-"

"Yes, I can, I'm your guardian." She interrupted.

"Actually, technically, I am." A smooth Russian voice said. Rose jerked to a holt.

"And who are you? Cheap foreign labour?" She answered with her usual tact.

"She didn't mean that." I jumped in, I could tell just from looking at her that she thought he was super hot. She pressed up against me, pushing me backwards. I bumped into someone.

_Behind us_ I thought, hoping Rose could hear it. She seemed to as she pushed me to the right, stepping round enough to see the new person and keep hot Russian guy in her sights. My jaw dropped as I took in the sight of Janine Hathaway. Oooops, we were in big trouble.

"Hello mother, finally dropped in to say 'Hi' I see."

"Rosemarie, what you have done is inexcusable."

"Now that's a bit harsh," A new, male voice said as he stepped out from cover. "She has more of me in than I would have thought. Rose seemed stunned as she took in this new 40ish year old man, with black hair and a goatee.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked, suspicion rife in her voice.

"Don't know the sight of your own father, shame." He returned. "Hello Janine."

Janine's face twitched, but she didn't react. Instead she said to the gathering group of people; "Shall we take this inside?"

"I believe we should." A lazy voice agreed. Standing near to the Russian, was a tall moroi, clove cigar in one hand.

"Lissa and I are leaving." Rose said as she continued to push me backwards, glancing quickly over her shoulder, checking that the way was clear.

"No, young lady." Janine broke in. "You are not." She grabbed Rose's arm, who attempted to batter her off as she was dragged towards the front door.

"Princess." The Russian Guardian said to me as he bowed, before gesturing before him. I smiled at him. This was what I had wanted after all.

Inside the place was luxurious. Masterly decorated and spacious. I walked past Rose and her mother who were still arguing into the living room. There were lots of couches and comfy looking chairs around the room, surrounding the coffee table in the middle of which was a large box. A letter was attached to the top.

My curiosity got the better of me and I pulled the letter off of the top. Rose appeared next to me, pulling me back. "You don't open that, till I've check it." She said gesturing to the box.

I raised an eyebrow at her, knowing how much it annoyed her that she couldn't do it. "And how exactly are you going to do that?" I asked.

"Like this." She said as she turned back to the box and yanked the lid off. Apart from a groan of dismay from Rose, nothing happened. "Books!" She exclaimed. "What the hell _is_ this?" She picked one up and read aloud from the blurb.

**Lissa Dragomir is a mortal vampire. **

**She must be protected at ****_all_**** times from the fiercest and most dangerous vampires of all - the ones who will never die.**

**Rose Hathaway is Lissa's best friend - and her bodyguard.**

**Now, after two years of illicit freedom, they've been dragged back inside the iron gates of St. Vladimir's Academy. The girls must survive a world of forbidden romances, a ruthless social scene and terrifying night-time rituals. **

**But above all, they must ****_never_**** let their guard down, lest the immortal vampires take Lissa - forever… **

"Are you hearing this?" Rose asked the room in general. I was stunned. A book about us, about our future.

"Perhaps you understand why we are here now?" The Russian said.

"To read our future." Rose's voice had taken on a mocking tone. "Great, fabulous, let's all sit here and read lovely stories about our lives. When we could just go ahead and live them." She sat down all of a sudden and I remembered that I'd fed that morning. I'd been too weak to go on without blood and she'd now be weak for the rest of the day as her body made that blood up. It wasn't a perfect situation.

"Are you okay?" I asked her and moved over to where she had sat down.

"Fine." She said, pushing her hair behind her head. It exposed the bite mark I'd made that morning. I made a face at her trying to tell her what she had done. She looked at me confused. I gestured to her neck. Too late, the Russian had spotted it.

"You've been feeding the Princess." He said looking impressed.

Rose didn't deny it, but she pulled her hair back over her neck, finally getting what I had been trying to tell her. "You know what," she said as she watched the amount of people who had filled into the room. "I think we need some introductions if we're going to stay here for some time. You know us, of course. Over there you have my famous, yet famously absent mother." She pointed to her mother as she continued with her reporter voice. "The dangerously disturbed Christian Ozera lurking in the shadows, and my very good friend Eddie Castle! Yet there are still some strangers in our midst."

"Rosemarie, grow up." Janie told her daughter.

Rose made an 'oops, got caught face' at me, at which I snorted with laughter, trying to keep it in.

"Dimitri Belikov, I've been assigned as Vasilisa's guardian." The tall Russian said, bowing to me again.

"She's already got one," Rose said rudely.

"Rose," I said, frustrated with her rudeness. "Don't be rude." She didn't say anything to appologise but neither did she say anything else rude. It was a start.

"Adrian Ivashkov at your service," The ridiculously handsome guy with the cigar said with a flourish. "Just along for the ride." He finished.

"I can't believe you don't remember me, you really are just like the rest of them." A small blonde moroi said.

"Oh, shut the fuck up doll face." Rose told her, bored already by her, she could never stand people's obsession with power.

"Rosemarie! Watch your language." Janine scolded Rose.

"It's not like you were there to set a good example, now is it mother?" Rose replied.

"Mia Rinaldi." Christian Ozera said. I took in his dark appearance, it was just like Rose's shell.

"Funny, I didn't think you were a girl." Came Rose's comment. Christian raised his brows, unimpressed by Rose's attitude. Unafraid of best friend. Check.

"You know, it really is extraordinary how similar she is to us when we were her age," The turkish man said, as he watched Rose.

"What are you saying, Old Man." Rose questioned.

Guardian Belikov had taken the letter from my hand, and was studying it intensely. I got the feeling he was a very serious person.

"Your mother never tell you who your old man was? Ibrahim Mazur, but my friends call me Abe." He smiled, wide enough to show fang. Rose sat their in silence for a second, but quickly recovered. She had already guessed outside.

"I hope you don't expect me to call you 'daddy'."

"Wouldn't dream of it." He responded. "And this is Sydney Sage, one of my helpers." He finished pointing to a quiet human girl with a shimmering golden tattoo on her cheek.

"I'm Jill. I'm not really sure why I'm here." The smallest girl said, she looked like she should be in the elementary side of the school. I smiled at her warmly and hoped she would be okay. Rose ruined the timid smile that came back from her.

"Great, charming, now that, that's all out of the way, can we leave? Yes? Brilliant, see you all at a much later date." Rose stood up and pulled at my arm.

"I think we should stay." I said. Rose looked at me gobsmacked.

"What?" She said.

"I think we should stay." I repeated.

"We're not staying."

"But if…" I protested.

"No buts, your safety is not worth it." She interrupted. "Come on." Guardian Belikov moved into her way, holding out his hands, like he was trying to keep her calm. She pressed up against me again, moving one step back. He moved forward and I had to hold her back to stop her from attacking him. Sending calming thoughts towards her, I prayed that she would calm down. She sagged in defeat.

"Fine, we can stay, but only so long as you're okay." She conceded.

Guardian Belikov held the letter he had taken from me up. "I think I should share this with the rest of you."

Most of the group had taken a seat around the room. Sydney was staying far away from everyone and had so far remained as quiet as a mouse. Adrian, Eddie and Christian had all taken a seat on the couch for three, while Rose's mom and her dad, or so he said, had taken one of the two-seaters.

I sat down next to Rose on the other, while Guardian Belikov took a comfy chair as did Mia and Jill. I hadn't a clue why Mia seemed to hate Rose and I so much.

"Dear all," Belikov started. "You all know that I have asked you here to read about your futures. I hope I can change them and prevent all of the sorrow that will happen to you all over the next one to two years.

"Some things are meant to happen and so they shall, a different future or not. If you do not want to read your future you should leave now. You will only have this opportunity to get out. It must be unanimous. One cannot leave and the rest stay.

"The keys you have been given will be useless and you will be unable to contact the outside for the time it takes you to read the books if you decide to stay. It must and will be this way. Feeders are onsite and the kitchen is fully stocked. You should get though just under a book a day - obviously you will want to take some breaks.

Good luck,

Please make the right decision,

Yeva."

Belikov looked up and glanced around the room.

"I say we go." Rose said. I hit her on the shoulder.

"Stop being so grumpy." I told her.

"Moi?" Grumpy?" She said, pretending to be offended.

Janine ignored her. "I believe we should stay." As she looked around the room, everyone except for Sydney and Rose nodded in agreement. "It's decided then." She said as she gestured towards the book in Roses' hand. "Who wants to read first?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I flipped to the first page of the book, not happy in the slightest. "I think the person who's view point it is in should." I read the first couple of lines before realising who that person was. "Nope," I said. "We're not reading this." Lissa giggled.

"It's your point of view, isn't it!" I glared at her, unfazed she continued to giggle. "Go on, I think you have to read."

"Nope." I protested.

"What, are you going to go back on what you said?" Lissa taunted. I took a deep breath and began.

"**I felt her fear before I heard her screams.**

**Her nightmare pulsed into me, shaking me out of my own dream, which had something to do with a beach and some hot guy rubbing suntan oil on me. Images - hers, not mine -"**

"How can they not be your images if it's your head?" Christian asked. I sighed in frustration. It was going to be like this the entire way though the books.

"I always knew you were psycho." Mia chipped in. I thanked god I hadn't punched anyone yet, only the waves of calmness coming from Lissa were keeping me in control. Ignoring them both I continued with the book.

**Images - hers, not mine - tumbled through my mind: fire and blood, the smell of smoke, the twisted metal of a car. The pictures wrapped around me, suffocating me, until some rational part of my brain reminded me that this wasn't ****_my_**** dream. **

"What do you mean, 'not your dream'?" Eddie asked.

Lissa and I shared a look. "If it's not in the books, I'm not telling you." I told him. "Sorry."

He looked disappointed, but nodded for me to carry on.

**I woke up, strands of long, dark hair sticking to my forehead. **

**Lissa lay in her bed, thrashing a screaming. I bolted out of mine, quickly crossing the few feet that separated us. **

**"Liss," I said, shaking her. "Liss, wake up."**

**Her screams dropped off, replaced by soft whimpers. "Andre," she moaned.**

I saw Mia flinch slightly as I spoke Lissas' older brother's name. I didn't stop, but seriously wanted to know what had happened there.

**"Oh, god."**

**I helped her sit up. "Liss, you aren't there anymore. Wake up."**

**After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, and in the dim lighting, I could see a flicker of consciousness start to take over. Her frantic breathing slowed, and she leaned into me, resting her head against my shoulder. I put an arm around her and ran a hand over her hair. **

**"It's okay," I told her gently. "Everything's okay."**

"Alberta was right, you do share a bond, but it's deeper than that isn't it." Belikov said.

"Comrade, I have no idea what you're getting at but I would do anything for Lissa."

**"I had that dream."**

**"Yeah, I know."**

**We sat like that for several minutes, not saying anything else. When I felt her emotions calm down -"**

"-Felt? What does that mean?" My mother asked. "How can you _feel_ someone else's emotions."

"They have a true bond, like in the stories." Belikov answered before I could say something snarky. "You know, all the best guardians have them."

"Thanks for nothing, comrade." Turning back to the book, I could see that everyone's attention had been caught and now they were listening intently.

**"When I felt her emotions calm down, I leaned over to the nightstand between our beds and turned on the lamp. It glowed dimly, but neither of us really needed much to see by. Attracted by the light, our house mate's cat, Oscar, leapt up onto the sill of the open window. He gave me a wide berth -"**

"Wise cat." Christian muttered under his breath, Eddie high fived-him for it. I glared at them both until they looked away.

**"- animals don't like dhampirs, for whatever reason - but jumped onto the bed and rubbed his head against Lissa, purring softly. Animals didn't have a problem with Moroi , and they all loved Lissa in particular. Smiling, she scratched his chin, and I felt her calm further. **

**"When did we last do a feeding?" I asked, studying her face."**

"I'm not sure whether to be proud as to the lengths you would go to look after Lissa or ashamed that you would sink to that." My mother interrupted.

"Let's go with ashamed, shall we? It would be a real shock to the system if you were proud of something I did." I retorted before continuing as if she hadn't interrupted. She went slightly pale and Abe took her hand in his. She pulled away, but after a minute - as though she couldn't decide if she wanted him to touch her or not.

**"Her fair skin was paler than usual. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and their was an air of fragility about her. School had been hectic this week, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd given her blood. "It's been like . . . more than two days, hasn't it? Three? Why didn't you say anything?"**

**She shrugged and wouldn't meet my eyes. "You were busy. I didn't want to -"**

**"Screw that," I said, shifting into a better position. No wonder she seemed so weak. Oscar, not wanting me any closer, leapt down and returned to the window, where he could watch at a safe distance. "Come on. Let's do this."**

**"Rose-"**

**"Come ****_on_****. It'll make you feel better."**

**I titled my head and tossed my hair back, baring my neck. I saw her hesitate, but the sight of my neck and what is offered proved too powerful. A hungry expression crossed her face, and her lips parted slightly, exposing the fangs she normally kept hidden while living among humans. Those fangs contrasted oddly with the rest of her features. With her pretty face and pale blonde hair, she looked more like an angel than a vampire.**

**As her teeth neared my bare skin, I felt my heart race with a mix of fear-"**

"This is bullshit. I'm not reading it." I interrupted myself as Liss tried to pull the book away from me.

"Come on," She said. "Give."

"No, this is an invasion of privacy."

"It hasn't happened yet." She said, exasperated. "Come on, I want to know what happens."

"What has the famous Rose Hathaway got to hide?" Eddie asked waggling his eyebrows. Liss finally managed to snag the book off of me.

**"As her teeth neared my bare skin, -" **Lissa stretched away from me as I attempted to grab the book, continuing to read. **"I felt my heart race with a mix of fear and anticipation. I always hated feeling the latter, but it was nothing I could help, a weakness I couldn't shake." **

I stopped struggling for the book and instead sat silently staring at my nails as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

**"Her fangs bit into me, hard, and I cried out at the brief flare of pain. Then i faded, replaced by a wonderful, golden joy that spread through my body. It was better than any of the times I'd been drunk or high. Better than sex-"**

"Rosemarie Hathaway! Do you have any idea of the kind of reputation you will gain? The consequences will be colossal! And I thought you were far more sensible than that - more grown up. Do you have anything to say for yourself, young lady?" My mother broke in. What did I care about the opinions of a woman who had abandoned me almost as soon as I was born. But for her to condemn me in front of people I didn't know? Ouch.

"Whatever, it's not like this book is factual, if it was it would have got some of that right."

"Er, Rose?" Liss said, hesitantly. "You might want to listen to this." She looked sheepish. I paused, wanting to know now.

**"Better than sex - or so I imagined, since I'd never done it."**

"Wait. You've never had sex?" Eddie and Mia asked simultaneously.

"That's what the book said." I replied.

**"It was a blanket of pure, refined pleasure, wrapping me up and promising everything would be right in the world. On and on it went. The chemicals in her saliva triggered an endorphin rush, and I lost track of he world, lost track of who I was. **

**Then, regretfully, it was over. It had taken less than a minute." **

"What do you mean, regretfully? Wouldn't you want it to be over?" Dimitri Beli-whatever said.

"Like a said, it's a weakness I can't shake. Not yet." I could see Eddies' look of disgust from the corner of my eye. Mia looked smug at the sight of a fallen enemy while Adrian looked intrigued.

**"She pulled back, wiping her hand across her lips as she studied me. "You okay?"**

**"I… yeah." I lay back on the bed, dizzy from the blood loss. "I just need to sleep it off. I'm fine."**

**Her pale, jade-green eyes watched me with concern. She stood up. "I'm going to get you something to eat."**

**My protests came awkwardly to my lips, and she left before I could get out a sentence. The buzz from her bite had lessened as soon as she broke the connection, but some of it still lingered in my veins, and I felt a goofy smile cross my lips. Turning my head, I glanced up at Oscar, still sitting in the window.**

**"You don't know what you're missing," I told him."** Lissa paused for a moment, laughing. "I reduced you to talking to the cat."

Next to her, Dimitri grabbed the book from her limp hand and keep reading while Lissa laughed. I wasn't sure how I felt about him reading my thoughts. Studying him, I felt like he was someone I could respect and learn from. Plus, he was ridiculously hot.

**"His attention was on something outside. Hunkering down into a crouch, he puffed out his jet-black fur. His tail started twitching. **

**My smile faded, and I forced myself to sit up. The world spun, and I waited for it to right itself before trying to stand. When I managed it, the dizziness set in again and this time refused to leave. Still, I felt okay enough to stumble to the window and peer our with Oscar. He eyed me warily, scooted over a little, and then returned to whatever had held his attention.**

**A warm breeze - unseasonably warm for a Portland fall - played with my hair as I leaned out. The street was dark and relatively quiet. It was three in the morning, just about the only time a college campus settled down, at least somewhat. The house in which we'd rented a room for the past eight months sat on a residential street with old, mismatched houses. Across the road, a streetlight flickered, nearly ready to burn out. It still cast enough light for me to make out the shapes of cars and buildings. In our own yard, I could see the silhouettes of trees and bushes. **

**And a man watching me. **

**I jerked back in surprise. A figure stood by a tree in the yard, about thirty feet away, where he could easily see through the window. He was close enough that I could probably have thrown something and hit him -"**

"And a totally Rose thing to say! Remember when you threw that book at our teacher?" Eddie burst out laughing. "Doesn't matter that you're in imminent danger, just that you could do something violent to them."

I smirked at him. "It's just my charming personality." Dimitri was watching us like we were a ping-pong match, but looking annoyed that we had interrupted. We subsided.

**"He was certainly close enough that he could have seen what Lissa and I had just done. **

**The shadows covered him so well that even with my heightened sight, I couldn't make out any of his features, save for his height. He was tall. Really tall. He stood there for just a moment, barely discernible, and then stepped back, disappearing into the shadows cast by the trees on the far side of the yard. I was pretty sure I saw someone else move nearby and join him before the blackness swallowed them both. **

**Whoever these figures were, Oscar didn't like them. Not counting me, he usually got along with most people, growing upset only when someone posed an immediate danger. The guy outside hadn't done anything threatening to Oscar, but the car had sensed something, something that put him on edge. **

**Something similar to what he always sensed in me. **

**Icy fear raced through me, almost - but not quite - eradicating the lovely bliss of Lissa's bite. Backing up from the window, I jerked on a pair of jeans that I found on the floor, nearly falling over in the process. Once they were on, I grabbed my coat and Lissa's, along with our wallets. Shoving my feet into the first shoes I saw, I headed out the door."**

"What? Without some shoes for me? What kind of best friend are you?" Lissa accused me.

"Especially since you 'shove your feet into the first shoes you see'." My mother added, in a decidedly less jokey tone than Liss. I sighed. Liss patted my arm.

"Doesn't matter," She told me. "I've got shoes today!" She wiggled her feet at me.

**"Downstairs, I found her in the cramped kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. One of our housemates, Jeremy, sat at the table, hand on his forehead as he stared sadly at a calculus book. Lissa regarded me with surprise. **

**"You shouldn't be up."**

"You know," Dimitri interrupted himself. "The care you two take of each other is extraordinary. I've never seen such dedication and attention between guardian and Moroi that goes both ways."

"They've always been like that." Eddie told him. "I can't remember a time when they weren't friends."

I reached over and nabbed the book off of Dimitri before they could go on and on.

**""We have to go. Now"**

**Her eyes widened, and then a moment later, understanding clicked in. "Are you … really? Are you sure?"**

**I nodded. I couldn't explain how I knew for sure. I just did.**

**Jeremy watched us curiously. "What's wrong?" **

**An idea came to mind. "Liss, get his car keys."**

**He looked back and forth between us. "What are you-"**

**Lissa unhesitatingly walked over to him. Her fear poured into me through our psychic bond, but there was something else too: her complete faith that I would take care of everything, that we would be safe. Like always, I hoped I was worthy of that kind of trust."**

"You are." Liss stated as I paused for breath. I smiled at her in thanks, but continued reading. I wanted out.

**"She smiled broadly and gazed directly into his eyes. For a moment, Jeremy just stared, still confused, and then I saw the thrall seize him. His eyes glazed over, and he regarded her adoringly.**

**"We need to borrow your car," she said in a gentle voice. "Where are your keys?"**

**He smiled, and I shivered. I had a high resistance to compulsion, but I could still feel its effects when it was directed at another person. That, and I'd been taught my entire life that using it was wrong."**

"It is forbidden for a reason, Rosemarie. I can't believe you would encourage Vasilisa to do such a thing." I ignored my mother, too used to the disapproval.

**"Reaching into his pocket, Jeremy handed over a set of keys hanging on a large red key chain. **

**"Thank you," said Lissa. "And where is is parked?"**

**"Down the street." he said dreamily. "At the corner. By Brown." Four blocks away. **

**"Thank you," She repeated, backing up. "As soon as we leave, I want you to go back to studying. Forget you ever saw us tonight."**

**He nodded obligingly. I got the impression he would have walked off a cliff for her right then if she'd asked. All humans were susceptible to compulsion , but Jeremy appeared weaker than most. That came in handy right now. **

**"Come on," I told her. "We've got to move."**

**We stepped outside, heading toward the corner he'd named. I was still dizzy from the bite-"**

"Are you feeling okay, now though?" Lissa asked me in a whisper. I saw Dimitri had heard.

"I'm fine, mostly recovered."

"You need something to eat." She insisted.

"I'll grab something at the end of the chapter." I said, hoping that Dimitri didn't realise what we were talking about.

**"I was still dizzy from the bite and kept stumbling, unable to move as quickly as I wanted. Lissa had to catch hold of me a few times to stop me from falling. All the time, that anxiety rushed into me from her mind. I tried my best to ignore it; I had my own fears to deal with. **

**"Rose… what are we going to do if they catch us?" She whispered. **

**"They won't," I said fiercely. "I won't let them."**

**"But if they've found us-"**

**"They've found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll just drive over to the train station and go to L.A. They'll lose the trail."**

"You make it sound so simple." Christian said. I laughed.

**"I made it sound simple. I always did, even though there was nothing simple about being on the run from the people we'd grown up with. We'd been doing it for two years, hiding wherever we could and just trying to finish high school. Our senior year had just started, and living on a college campus had seemed safe. We were so close to freedom. **

**She said nothing more, and I felt her faith in me surge up once more. This was the way it had always been between us. I was the one who took action, who made sure things happened - sometimes recklessly so."**

"Sometimes?" Lissa questioned.

"Okay, okay, more like most of the time." I replied, smiling.

"That's more like it." She said, supremely.

**"She was the more reasonably one, the one who thought things out and researched them extensively before acting. Both styles had their uses, but at the moment, recklessness was called for. We didn't have time to hesitate. **

**Lissa and I had been best friends ever since kindergarten, when our teacher had paired us together for writing lessons. Forcing five-year-olds to spell ****_Vasilisa Dragomir_**** and ****_Rosemarie Hathaway_**** was beyond cruel, and we'd - or rather, ****_I'd_**** - responded appropriately. I'd chucked my book at our teacher and called her a fascist bastard. I hadn't known what those words meant, but I'd known how to hit a moving target."**

"And that's where it all started to go down hill. One bad report after the other." My mother said. I stared at her - was she trying to joke? Lissa waved her hand over my face as my mother squirmed under my stare. I snapped back to the book.

**"Lissa and I had been inseparable ever since. **

**"Do you hear that?" She asked suddenly.**

**I took me a few seconds to puck up what her sharper senses already had. Footsteps, moving fast. I grimaced. We had two more blocks to go. **

**"We've got to run for it," I said, catching hold of her arm.**

**"But you can't-"**

**"Run."**

**It took every ounce of my will power not to pass out on the sidewalk. My body didn't want to run after losing blood or while still metabolising the effects of her saliva. But I ordered my muscles to stop their bitching and clung to Lissa as our feet pounded against the concrete. Normally I could have out run her without any extra effort - particularly since she was barefoot -"**

"Thanks for that." She interjected. I choked on a laugh as I tried to keep reading.

**"but tonight, she was all that held me upright. **

**The pursuing footsteps grew louder, closer. Black stars danced before my eyes. Ahead of us, I could make out Jeremy's green Honda. Oh God, if we could just make it -**

**Ten feet from the car, a man stepped directly into our path. We came to a screeching halt, and I jerked Lissa back by her arm. It was ****_him_****, the guy I'd seen across the street watching me. He was older than us, maybe mid-twenties, and as tall as I'd figured, probably six-six or six-seven. And under different circumstances - say, when he wasn't holding up our desperate escape - I would have thought he was hot. Shoulder-length brown hair, tied back in a short ponytail. Dark brown eyes. A long brown coat - a duster, I thought it was called.**

I think everyone kind of knew exactly who I was describing in the room and for the first time in a long time I was embarrassed. I wished we had never started reading these books.

**"But his hotness was irrelevant now. He was only an obstacle keeping Lissa and me away from the car and our freedom. The footsteps behind us slowed, and I knew our pursuers had caught up. Off to the sides, I detected more movement, more people closing in. God. They'd sent almost a dozen guardians to retrieve us. I couldn't believe it. The queen herself didn't travel with that many. **

**Panicked and not entirely in control of my higher reasoning-"**

"Ha! When are you ever?" Eddie broke in.

"To true, from what I remember, you were always at the centre of the crazy stunts." Christian joined in.

"Sounds interesting." Adrian finished

"God, you and Mason - always in the middle of the chaos. It's scary how alike you two think. What I want to know is why isn't he here?" Eddie asked.

"Don't look at me," I told him. "If I had my way, I wouldn't be here either."

**"I acted out of instinct. I pressed up to Lissa, keeping her behind me and away from the man who appeared to be the leader. **

**"Leave her alone," I growled. "Don't touch her."**

**His face was unreadable, but he held out his hands in what was apparently supposed to be some sort of calming gesture, like I was a rabid animal he was planning to sedate. **

**"I'm not going to-"**

**He took a step forward. Too close. **

**I attacked him, leaping out in an offensive manoeuvre I hadn't used in two years, not since Lissa and I had run away."**

"How could you have not practised? I can see how much you care for Vasilisa, but yet you didn't practise your manoeuvres? What could be of higher priority?" I flushed as Dimitri criticised me, but didn't argue. It was stupid.

**"The move was stupid, another reaction born of instinct and fear. And it was hopeless. He was a skilled guardian, not a novice who hadn't finished his training. He also wasn't weak and on the verge of passing out. **

**And man, was he fast. I'd forgotten how fast guardians could be, how they could move and strike like cobras. He knocked me off as though brushing away a fly, and his hand slammed into me and sent me backwards. I don't think he meant to stoke that hard - probably just intended to keep me away - but my lack of coordination interfered with my ability to respond. Unable to catch my footing, I started to fall, heading straight toward the sidewalk at a twisted angle, hip-first. It was going to hurt. A ****_lot._**

**Only it didn't"**

"Whoop! At least I don't get properly hurt in the first few pages!" Lissa laughed and nudged me.

"Carry on, for the rest of us!"

**"Just as quickly as he'd blocked me, the man reached out and caught my arm, keeping me upright. When I'd steadied myself, I noticed he was staring at me - or more precisely, at my neck. Still disoriented, I didn't get it right away. Then, slowly, my free hand reached up to the side of my throat and lightly touched the wound Lissa had made earlier. When I pulled my fingers back, I saw slick, dark blood on my skin. Embarrassed, I shook my hair so that it fell forward around my face. My hair was thick and long and completely covered my neck. I'd grown it out for precisely this reason. **

**The guy's dark eyes lingered on the now-covered bite a moment longer and then met mine. I returned his look defiantly and quickly jerked out of his hold. He let me go, though I knew he could have restrained me all night if he'd wanted. Fighting the nauseating dizziness, I backed toward Lissa again, bracing myself for another attack. Suddenly, her hand caught hold of mine. "Rose," she said quietly. "Don't."**

**Her words had no effect on me at first, but calming thoughts gradually began to settle in my mind, coming across through the bond. It wasn't exactly compulsion - she wouldn't use that on me - but it was effectual, as was the fact that we were hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed. Even I knew struggling would be pointless. The tension left my body, and I sagged in defeat. **

**Sensing my resignation, the man stepped forward, turning his attention to Lissa. His face was calm. He swept her a bow and managed to look graceful doing it, which surprised me considering his height. "My name is Dimitri Belikov," he said. I could hear a faint Russian accent. "I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."**

I looked up after finishing the end of the last sentence.

"Well," Eddie said. "At least we know how you'll listen to now."

I laughed; "was that seriously all that you got from that?"

"Hey!" He exclaimed. "That is a serious point. You never listen to anybody - far too stubborn if you ask me."

"Whatever," I replied. "I want food." And with that I got up from the room and headed to the kitchen. I could hear quiet footsteps behind me, it wasn't Lissa I knew that.

"That's really something, to allow Vasilisa to take blood from you for two years. From all the reports I thought I knew you, but I don't think any of us knew that you would go to such lengths."

I glanced over at Dimitri. "Call her Lissa," I said as I searched through the fridge.

"I'll train you, if you want."

I looked at him, stunned. "What?" I asked sensibly.

"You want to learn, don't you." He studied my face as I watched him, suddenly feeling vulnerable. Whatever he saw, made him continue. "And Headmistress Kirova won't let you come back unless you have a mentor. The others were right, you have a huge amount of potential and we can't let you slip though our fingers. Not with the bond you share with Vas-Lissa."

"You would do that?" I asked him, my usual attitude missing. It was what I wanted. To be able to protect Lissa fully - to keep her safe in every possible way - but I wasn't sure that it was a good idea for Lissa to go back to the academy. But maybe I could trust this Dimitri. After all, he was the first person to see that I truly wanted to be a guardian.

He studied my face for a moment longer. "Yes." He said. "We'll fit extra practises in when we get back to the academy." I knew my face wasn't quite right and so I expected his; "What's wrong." I bit my lip. Lissa didn't want anyone else to know, but I felt like I could trust him.

"I need to talk to Lissa about something." He searched my face for clues. "But, thank you." I smiled at him and when he smiled back, a weird feeling twisted my stomach. With that smile, "Gorgeous" no longer described him. I blinked and went back to the fridge, blushing.

"What you looking for?" He asked.

"Ham and cheese." I said.

"You're having an orange as well." Lissa said as she came into the kitchen, Christian in tow. I really didn't like the way they kept sneaking glances at each other.

"Yes, mother." I said as I grabbed the bits and pieces from the fridge and put them on the side. She chucked an orange at me. I caught it and put it next to the half made sandwich.

Now that there were others in the room, Dimitri remained silent.

"You know," Christian started. "You make yourself out to be more psycho than you actually are."

"Gee, thanks, Sparky." I retorted.

"No, it's a good tactic. It means no one will mess with Lissa cause they're all too afraid of you."

Lissa laughed; "Only Rose would take that as a compliment." I smiled widely at Christian, a wicked glint in my eyes. He only seemed amused, not intimidated. As much as I hated to admit it, I respected him for it. Not that I would ever show it.

"Come on," I said to the other three. "Let's get back to this blasted book. I want this to be over with as soon as humanly possible." Especially as I had a feeling that I would be crushing on Dimitri in the book as well… and he'd hear my thoughts. Damn.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

As we walked back in the room, I saw Abe with the book in his lap. He had obviously elected to read next. My mom and him were having a quiet intense discussion which stopped as I walked into the room. Great, someone else discussing my behaviour. Mia seemed to be delighted that she got to witness the unpopularity I had with my parents.

Everyone was quiet as we settled back down into our previous positions. Abe waved the book in the air. "Everyone ready?" He asked. There was a round of agreements as I tucked into my sandwich.

**"My hatred notwithstanding, I had to admit Dimitri Beli-whatever was pretty smart."**

I avoided his eyes, as Dimitri looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

**"After they'd carted us off to the airport and onto the Academy's private jet, he'd taken one look at the two of us whispering and ordered us separated.**

**"Don't let them talk to each other," he warned the guardian who escorted me to the back of the plane. "Five minutes together, and they'll come up with an escape plan."**

**I shot him a haughty look and stormed off down the aisle. Never mind the fact we ****_had_**** been planning an escape."**

Almost everybody laughed at my confirmation.

**"As it was, things didn't look good for our heroes - or heroines, rather. Once we were up in the air, our odds of escape dropped further. Even supposing a miracle occurred and I did manage to take out all ten guardians, we'd have a problem in getting off the plane. I figured they might have parachutes aboard somewhere, but in the unlikely event I'd be able to operate one, there was still that little issue of survival, seeing as we'd probably land somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. **

**No, we weren't getting off this plane until it landed in backwoods Montana. I'd have to think of something then, something that involved getting past the Academy's magical wards and ten times as many guardians. Yeah. No problem. **

**Although Lissa sat at the front with the Russian guy, her fear sang back to me, pounding inside my head like a hammer. My concern for her cut back into my fury. They couldn't take her back ****_there, _****not to that place. I wondered if Dimitri might have hesitated if he could feel what I did and if he knew what I knew. Probably not. He didn't care."**

"I would care." Dimitri interrupted.

"We hadn't even had one conversation and you are taking us back to a place we don't want to be! I wouldn't like you under those conditions! Hell I wouldn't like anyone who was on that plane! Apart from you Lissa, of course."

"Same here," Lissa agreed. "Sorry Guardian Belikov." She said apologetically. Dimitri smiled, forgiving them.

"I think, if I had been in your situation, I would have felt the same way."

"How touching, but do you mind if I carry on?" Abe asked.

**"As it was, her emotions grew so strong that for a moment, I had the disorienting sensation of sitting in her seat - in her ****_skin_**** even. It happened sometimes, and without much warning, she'd pull me right into her head. Dimitri's tall frame sat beside me, and my hand - ****_her _****hand - gripped a bottle of water. He leaned forward to pick up something, revealing six tiny symbols tattooed on the back of his neck: ****_molnija_**** marks. They looked like two streaks of jagged lightening crossing in a X symbol. One for each Strigoi he'd killed. Above them was a twisting line, sort of like a snake, that marked him as a guardian. The promise mark. **

**Blinking, I fought against her and shifted back into my own head with a grimace. I hated when that happened. Feeling Lissa's emotion was one thing, but slipping into her was something we both despised. She saw it as an invasion of privacy, so I usually didn't tell her when it happened."**

"How often did it happen?" She asked me. Ooops, busted.

"Er… often enough?" I left my answer as a question as she glared at me.

"What if she really likes somebody, could you be pulled into her head then?" Christian asked.

I looked at him for a moment. "I am so _not_ going there for the first time like that. As much as I love you Lissa, the feelings are purely platonic." Eddie and Adrian laughed. Mia smirked while Jill smiled. Sydney was still absolutely silent.

"So, how come a human knows about us?" I asked. Sydney looked up, startled at being addressed by me.

"I'm sure it will be in the book." She said quietly and then looked away again.

**"Neither of us could control it. It was another effect of the bond, a bond neither of us fully understood. Legends existed about psychic links between guardians and their Moroi, but the stories had never mentioned anything like this. We fumbled through it as best we could. **

**Near the end of the flight, Dimitri walked back to where I sat and traded places with the guardian beside me. I pointedly turned away, staring out of the window absentmindedly. Several moments of silence passed. Finally, he said, "Were you really going to attack all of us?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"Doing that … protecting her like that - it was very brave." He paused. "****_Stupid_****, but still brave. Why did you even try it?"**

**I glanced over at him, brushing my hair out of my face so I could look him levelly in the eye. "Because I'm her guardian." I turned back toward the window. **

**After another quiet moment, he stood up and returned to the front of the jet.**

**When we landed, Lissa and I had no choice but to let the commandos drive us out to the Academy. Our car stopped at the gate, and our driver spoke with guards who verified we weren't Strigoi about to go off on a killing spree. After a minute, they let us pass on through the wards and up to the Academy itself. It was around sunset - the start of the vampiric day - and the campus lay wrapped in shadows. **

**It probably looked the same, sprawling and gothic. The Moroi were big on tradition; nothing ever changed with them. This school wasn't as old as the ones back in Europe, but it had been built in the same style. The buildings boasted elaborate, almost church like architecture, with high peaks and stone carvings. Wrought iron gates enclosed small gardens and doorways here and there. After living on a college campus, I had a new appreciation for just how much this place resembled a university more than a typical high school."**

"Why is your brain describing all of this to us?" Eddie asked.

"Don't ask me, I haven't lived through this yet." I replied.

"I think it's nice. I get to properly imagine a place I've never been to." Sydney broke in and then flushed as we all looked at her.

"Actually, she's right." Slurred Adrian. How had he got the alcohol in here in the first place? "I wouldn't know what it looked like either. Although I can imagine from my own experience of high school."

**"We were on the secondary campus, which was divided into lower and upper schools. Each was built around a large open quadrangle decorated with stone paths and enormous, century-old trees. We were going toward the upper school's quad, which had academic buildings on one side, while damper dormitories and the gym sat opposite. Moroi dorms sat on one of the other ends, and opposite them were the administrative buildings that also served the lower school. Younger students lived on the primary campus, farther to the west. **

**Around the campuses was space, space, and more space. We were in Montana, after all, miles away from any real city. The air felt cool in my lungs and smelled of pine and wet, decaying leaves. Overgrown forests ringed the perimeters of the Academy, and during the day, you could see mountains rising up in the distance. **

**As we walked into the main part of the upper school, I broke from my guardian and ran up to Dimitri.**

**"Hey, Comrade."**

"Is that how you came up with it earlier? It just popped out of your mouth."

I shrugged. "That's how most things occur to me."

**"He kept walking and wouldn't look at me. "You want to talk now?"**

**"Are you taking us to Kirova?"**

**"Headmistress Kirova," he corrected. On the other side of him, Lissa shot me a look that said, ****_Don't start something_****.**

**"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit-"**

**"My words faded as the guardians led us through a set of doors - straight into the commons. I sighed. Were these people ****_really_**** so cruel? There had to be at least a dozen ways to get to Kirova's office, and they were taking us right through the centre of the commons. **

**And it was breakfast time."**

"You would seriously drag me though there, barefoot?" Lissa asked Dimitri, horrified at the prospect.

"I probably wasn't thinking about that…" he defended.

**"Novice guardians - dhampirs like me - and Moroi sat together, eating and socialising, faces alight with whatever current gossip that held the Academy's attention. When we entered, the loud buzz of conversation stopped instantly, like someone had flipped a switch. Hundreds of sets of eyes swivelled toward us. **

**I returned the stares of my former classmates with a lazy grin, trying to get a sense as to whether things had changed. Nope. Didn't seem like it. Camille Conta still looked like the prim, perfectly groomed bitch I remembered, still the self-appointed leader of the Academy's royal Moroi cliques. Off to the side, Lissa's gawky near-cousin Natalie watched with wide eyes, as innocent and naive as before. **

**And on the other side of the room… well, that was interesting. Aaron. Poor, poor Aaron, who'd no doubt had his heart broken when Lissa left. He still looked as cute as ever - maybe more so no - with those same golden looks that complemented hers so well. His eyes followed her every move. Yes. Definitely not over her. It was sad, really, because Lissa had never really been all that into him. I think she'd gone out with him simply because it seemed like the expected thing to do."**

"God, such a bitch even then, huh, Lissa." Mia spat out.

"Shut up, little girl, go back to nap time." I dismissed her with a wave of my hand.

**"But what I found most interesting was that Aaron had apparently found a way to pass the time without her. Beside him, holding is hand, was a Moroi girl who looked about eleven-"**

"Hey! I do not look that young!"

"Er… yes, you do, Blondie."

"Girls.." Abe interrupted our bitching session.

**"but had to be older, unless he'd become a pedophile during our absence. With plump little cheeks and blonde ringlets, she looked like a porcelain doll. A very pissed off and evil porcelain doll. She gripped his hand tightly and shot Lissa a look of such burning hatred that it stunned me. What the hell was that all about? She was no one I knew. Just a jealous girlfriend, I guessed. I'd be pissed too if my guy was watching someone else like that.**

**Our walk of shame mercifully ended, though our new setting - Headmistress Kirova's office - didn't really improve things. The old hag looked exactly like I remembered, sharp-nosed and grey-haired. She was tall and slim, like most Moroi, and had always reminded me of a vulture. I knew her well because I'd spent a lot of time in her office. **

**Most of our escorts left us once Lissa and I were seated, and I felt a little less like a prisoner. Only Alberta, the captain of the school's guardians, and Dimitri stayed. They took up positions along the wall, looking stoic and terrifying, just as their job description required. **

**Kirova fixed her angry eyes on us-"**

"Not looking forward to that bit." I whispered to Lissa.

"Me either." She whispered back, grimacing.

**"and opened her mouth to begin what would no doubt be a major bitch session. A deep, gentle voice stopped her.**

**"Vasilisa." **

**Startled, I realised there was someone else in the room. I hadn't noticed. Carless for a guardian, even a novice one."**

**With a great deal of effort, Victor Dashkov rose from a corner chair. ****_Prince _****Victor Dashkov. Lissa sprang up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his frail body."**

Lissa looked like she was about to cry. "Hey," I said. "It'll be okay. You'll get to see him soon." She nodded and leant her head on my shoulder. I patted her hair.

"Huh," Eddie said. "I don't think I've ever seen this side of you."

I gave him a small smile. "Probably not." I replied.

**"Uncle," she whispered. She sounded on the verge of tears as she tightened her grip. **

**With a small smile, he gently patted her back. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Vasilisa." He looked toward me. "And you too, Rose."**

**I nodded back, trying to hide how shocked I was. He'd been sick when we left, but this - this was ****_horrible_****. He was Natalie's father, only about forty or so, but he looked twice that age. Pale. Withered. Hands shaking. My heart broke watching him. With all the horrible people in the world, it didn't seem fair that this guy should get a disease that was going to kill him young and ultimately keep him from becoming king. **

**Although not technically her uncle - the Moroi used family terms very loosely, especially the royals - Victor was a close friend of Lissa's family and had gone out of his way to help her after her parents had died. I liked him; he was the first person I was happy to see here. **

**Kirova let them have a few more moments and then stiffly drew Lissa back to her seat. **

**Time for the lecture. **

**It was a good one - one of Kirova's best, which was saying something. She was a master at them. I swear that was the only reason she'd gone into school administration, because I had yet to see any evidence of her actually ****_liking_**** kids. The rant covered the usual topics: responsibility, reckless behaviour, self-centredness… Bleh, I immediately found myself spacing out, alternatively pondering the logistics of escaping through the window in her office." **

Dimitri scoffed. "Like that would have happened with myself and Alberta there."

"I never said that it would work, just that I was pondering it." I paused for a moment. "Why am I defending something I haven't even thought about yet?"

"Cause you're you, silly." Lissa came up with the perfect answer.

"And if this book holds true, then I will think about it at some point right?"

"Right." She agreed.

"You two are weird." Christian broke in. "Finishing off each others thoughts like that."

We looked at each other and laughed; "We've know each other for far too long and know each other far too well."

**"But when the tirade shifted back to me - well, that was when I tuned back in. **

**"You, Miss Hathaway, broke the most sacred promise among our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect a Moroi. It is a great trust. A trust that you violated by selfishly taking the princess away from here. The Strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs: ****_you _**** nearly enabled them to do it."**

**"Rose didn't kidnap me." Lissa spoke before I could, her voice and face calm, despite her uneasy feelings. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her."**

**Ms. Kirova ****_tsk_****ed at us both and paced the office, hands folded behind her narrow back.**

**"Miss Dragomir, you could have been the one who orchestrated the entire plan for all I know, but it was still ****_her _****responsibility to make sure you didn't carry it out. If she'd done her duty, she would have notified someone. If she'd done her duty, she would have kept you safe. **

**I snapped. **

**"I ****_did_**** do my duty!" I shouted, jumping up from my chair. Dimitri and Alberta both flinched but left me alone since I wasn't trying to hit anyone."**

"Yet." Lissa said and laughed, "With this, it seems to be only a matter of time."

Abe laughed and continued reading.

**"Since I wasn't trying to hit anyone. Yet. "I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none of ****_you_**** - I made a sweeping gesture around the room - "could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to."**

**Through the bond, I felt Lissa trying to send me calming messages, again urging me not to let anger get the best of me. Too late.**

**Kirova stared at me, her face blank. "Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?"**

**I bit my lip."**

"You're not doing yourself or Vasilisa any favours by holding back any information." My mother started. Criticising me again.

"And again, mother, I'm not going to defend something I haven't done yet. There are things that not everyone gets to know. Only the people we trust."

"And why couldn't you get the school to help the first time round?" She questioned.

"Why would I ask them for help, I didn't trust anyone."

"Enough." Abe said. "You two need to sort things out between you. I don't understand the resentment on your side, Rose and I certainly don't understand your disapproval, Janine. You were just like her when you were her age." We both subsided. Not looking at the other. Abe waited for a few moments and the brought the book back up to continue reading.

**"I see. Well, then. By my estimation, the only reason you left - aside from the novelty of it, no doubt - was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance." **

**"No, that's not-"**

**"And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a Moroi, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."**

"What?! They can't just expel me! There are to few dhampirs to do that!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was outraged. My mother didn't look any less angry.

"You wait until I have a few words with Kirova." She said, her accent coming through thickly. It always did when she wasn't in complete control.

Now Abe looked at us with amusement. "Ah, look, both of my girls working together." I looked at my mother in surprise. Maybe we were more alike than I thought.

**"My cockiness dried up. "I … what?"**

**Lissa stood up beside me. "You can't do that! She's my guardian."**

**"She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice."**

**"But my parents-"**

**"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave."**

**I stared at Kirova, unable to believe what I was hearing. "Where are you going to send me? To my mom in Nepal? Did she even know I was gone?"**

I looked sheepishly at my mother.

**"Or maybe you'll send me off to my ****_father?_****"**

Abe's eyebrows rose as he read the last word, the venom implied was impossible to miss. Ooops.

**"Or maybe you're going to send me off to be a blood whore. Try that, and we'll be gone by the end of the day."**

**"Miss Hathaway," she hissed, "you are out of line."**

**"They have a bond." Dimitri's low, accented voice broke the heavy tension, and we all turned toward him. I think Kirova had forgotten he was there, but I hadn't. His presence was way too powerful to ignore. He still stood against the wall, looking like some sort of cowboy sentry in that ridiculous long coat of his. He looked at me, not Lissa, his dark eyes staring straight through me. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?"**

"How the hell did you guess so quickly?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

"It's obvious as soon as you start watching the pair of you interact. You don't just love and care for each other, you, Rose, are able to anticipate what Lissa is going to do and how she will react to things." He told me.

"Oh," came my inadequate reply. Lissa giggled, trying to muffle it behind her hand. She ran her hand through her hair as she saw Christian watching her. Uh, oh, there was no way Lissa was going to fall for someone as dark as Christian.

**"I at least had the satisfaction of seeing Kirova caught off guard as she glanced between us and Dimitri. "No… that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries."**

**"It's obvious," he said. "I suspected as soon as I started watching them."**

**Neither Lissa nor I responded, and I averted my eyes from his. **

**"This is a gift," murmured Victor from his corner. "A rare and wonderful thing."**

**"The best guardians always had that bond," added Dimitri. "In the stories."**

**Kirova's outrage returned."**

"Guess we know what to say and what not to say, huh, Comrade?" I interrupted Abe.

**"Stories that are centuries old," she exclaimed. "Surely you aren't suggesting we let her stay at the Academy after everything she's done?"**

**He shrugged. "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential-"**

**"Wild and disrespectful?" I interrupted. "Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?"**

**"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," said Kirova. Her ****_sanctioned_**** guardian."**

**"You got cheap foreign labour to protect Lissa?"**

"I guess we know what not to say next time." Dimitri repeated back to me. I blushed while Lissa held in her laughter, Christian, Eddie and Adrian didn't bother.

**"That was pretty mean of me to say - particularly since most Moroi and their guardians were of Russian or Romanian descent - but the comment seemed cleverer at the time than it really was. And it wasn't like I was one to talk. I might have been raised in the U.S., but my parents were foreign-born. My damper mother was Scottish - red-haired, with a ridiculous accent-"**

"Hey!" My mother exclaimed. "My accent is not ridiculous!"

"I don't think it's ridiculous." Abe said. Mom blushed as she looked at him. Interesting.

"Eurgh, guys, I do not want another sibling running around, thanks." Dimitri snorted with laughter and Lissa laughed outright. Christian stared at her again, openly. It was disconcerting how no-one ever seemed to notice what he was doing.

**"and I'd been told my Moroi dad was Turkish. That genetic combination had given me skin the same colour as the inside of an almond, along with what I liked to think were semi-exotic desert-princess features: big dark eyes and hair so deep brown that it usually looked black. I wouldn't have minded inheriting the red hair, but we take what we get."**

At that pronouncement, my mother smiled at me.

"Little dhampir, we can quite clearly see your beauty from here, why are you describing yourself to yourself?" Adrian asked me.

"No idea, although if it's a book to be read by people who don't know me - isn't that a scary thought - then that's why. Or my brains just funny."

"Your brain is just funny." Eddie told me. I stuck my tongue out at him in a mature fashion.

**"Kirova threw her hands up in exasperation and turned to him. "You see? Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and ****_very_**** raw potential in the world can't make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian." **

**"So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again." **

"Why are you defending and helping me? I just seriously insulted you." I asked Dimitri, what had I done to deserve such help.

"I would do the same now. I can see how much you care for Lissa and want to do the best by her. We need as many guardians as we can get." He answered.

**"Impossible. She'll still be hopelessly behind her peers."**

**"No, I won't," I argued. No one listened to me. **

**"Then give her extra training sessions," he said. **

**They continued on while the rest of us watched the exchange like it was a Ping-Pong game. My pride was still hurt over the ease with which Dimitri had tricked us, but it occurred to me that he might very well keep me here with Lissa. Better to stay at this hellhole than be without her. Through our bond, I could feel her trickle of hope. **

**"Who's going to put in the extra time?" demanded Kirova. "You?"**

**"Dimitri's argument came to an abrupt stop. "Well, that's not what I-"**

**Kirova crossed her arms with satisfaction. "Yes. That's what I thought." **

**Clearly at a loss, he frowned. His eyes flickered toward Lissa and me, and I wondered what he saw. Two pathetic girls, looking at him with big, pleading eyes? Or two runaways who'd broken out of a high-security school and swiped half of Lissa's inheritance?**

**"Yes," he said finally. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones."**

**"And then what?" retorted Kirova angrily. "She goes unpunished?"**

**"Find some other way to punish her," answered Dimitri. "Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. A girl, in particular."**

**His unspoken words made me shudder, reminding me of my earlier statement about "blood whores." Few dhampir girls became girls anymore. **

**Victor suddenly spoke up from his corner. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent."**

**Ms. Kirova stared out her window. It was completely black outside. With the Academy's nocturnal schedule, ****_morning_**** and ****_afternoon_**** were relative terms. That, and they kept the windows tinted to block out excess light. **

**When she turned back around, Lissa met her eyes. "Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay."**

**Oh, Lissa, I thought. ****_Be careful_****. Using compulsion on another Moroi was dangerous - particularly in front of witnesses.**

"Vasilisa, I've known you since you were a little girl, I never thought you could do something like that."

"Mom, jesus, it hasn't even happened yet." I rolled my eyes at her over-reaction, though I was worried myself.

**"But Lissa was only using a tiny bit, and we needed all the help we could get. Fortunately, no one seemed to realise what was happening. **

**I don't even know if the compulsion made a difference, but finally, Kirova sighed. **

**"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be." She turned to me. "Your continued enrolment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line ****_once_****, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have - before ****_and_**** after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, expect meals, and you will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent … away."**

"What ridiculous terms." My mother said. "I've got half a mind to come to that meeting and see what she will say in front of me."

I stared at my mom, I hadn't known she would defend me so decidedly. Maybe we could be friends.

**"I gave a harsh laugh. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" I nodded toward Lissa. "Afraid we'll run away again?"**

**"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall. you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for." Her thin lips tightening into a straight line. "You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it."**

"Generous my ass."

I jerked out of my half-listening state, and looked at Abe. "Do I seriously say that?" I asked him, there was no-way they'd let me stay with Lissa if I'd said that.

"No, I did." He said. "I've got half a mind to show her 'generous.' Picking on my daughter like than. Racist bastard." I smiled, looked like my parents weren't half bad after all.

**"I started to say it wasn't generous at all, but then I caught Dimitri's gaze. It was hard to read. He might have been telling me he believed in me. He might have been telling me I was an idiot to keep fighting with Kirova. I didn't know. **

**Looking away from him for the second time during the meeting, I stared at the floor, conscious of Lissa beside me and her own encouragement burning in our bond. At long last, I exhaled and glanced back up at the headmistress. **

**"Fine. I accept." **

"And that's the end of chapter two." Abe said. Eddie yawned and stretched.

"I feel as though I'm being read a bedtime story, all this sitting around isn't something I'm used to." We all laughed at Eddie's statement, apart from Mia who was still holding herself as far as possible away from us and glaring whenever we looked her way.

Adrian looked to be asleep. "Eddie, see if he's actually awake would you?" Eddie looked at me curiously and then touched Adrian's shoulder. He didn't move.

Eddie shrugged. "Seems to be fast asleep."

"How dare he find my life so boring." I said in a mock-outraged tone.

"Shall we carry on with the next chapter?" My mom asked. "We might as well zip through as many as can today. Could you wake Mr. Ivashkov up for me please, Eddie?"

As Eddie shook Adrian awake, my mom took the book off of Abe and found the right page.

"Ready?" She asked.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

_"Ready?" She asked._

As the nods came from the rest of the room, I remained still and silent. I didn't want to be here, with these unnatural creatures of the night.

**"Sending us straight to class-"**

"Hang on," The blonde Moroi said, the one next to the outspoken dhampir, Lissa I thought her name was. "What about some shoes for me? I want shoes before being sent to class!"

I blinked in surprise, who knew they cared about being properly dressed. Although if I looked at Mr. Mazur I think I knew that already. He was always impeccably dressed, and one hell of a scary man. His daughter didn't look too evil though.

"I'm sure Kirova isn't that cruel." The daughter said, Rose if I remembered correctly. "She probably found you some mouldy, second-hand shoes from somewhere." She said, teasing her friend. Lissa stuck her tongue out at her.

Rose's mother, Janine Hathaway, started all over again.

**"Sending us straight to class after our meeting seemed beyond cruel, but that's exactly what Kirova did. Lissa was led away, and I watched her go, glad the bond would allow me to keep reading her emotional temperature. **

**The actually sent me to one of the guidance counselors first. He was an ancient Moroi, one I remembered from before I'd left. I honestly couldn't believe he was still around. The guy was so freaking old, he should have retired. Or died."**

"Rose!" Lissa exclaimed. "You can't say things like that."

"What?" Rose said. "Firstly I thought it and secondly it hasn't happened yet."

Lissa paused for a second as the three boys sitting together laughed. "Fine, I forgive you."

"Thank you, miss." Rose replied cheekily.

**"The visit took all of five minutes. He said nothing about my return and asked a few questions about what classes I'd taken in Chicago and Portland. He compared those against my old file and hastily scrawled out a new schedule. I took it sullenly and headed out to my first class. **

**1st Period Advanced Guardian Combat Techniques**

**2nd Period Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection 3**

**3rd Period Weight Training and Conditioning**

**4th Period Senior Language Arts (Novices)**

**-Lunch-**

**5th Period Animal Behaviour and Psychology**

**6th Period Pre-calculus**

**7th Period Moroi Culture 4**

**8th Period Slavic Art**

"Wow," I said, speaking for almost the first time. "You guys have a seriously long schedule."

Rose made a face. "I'd forgotten how long the Academy's school day was - just one of the perks I guess." She sighed.

**"Ugh. I'd forgotten how long the Academy's school day was."**

There was a round of laughs from everyone as Rose realised she had just repeated her future self.

**"Novices and Moroi took separate classes during the first half of the day, which meant I wouldn't see Lissa until after lunch - if we had any afternoon classes together. Most of them were standard senior classes, so I felt my odds were pretty good. Slavic art struck me as the kind of elective no one signed up for, so hopefully they'd stuck her in there too.**

**Dimitri and Alberta escorted me to the guardians' gym for first period, neither one acknowledging my existence. Walking behind them, I saw how Alberta wore her hair in a short, pixie cut that showed her promise mark and ****_molnija _****marks. A lot of female guardians did this. It didn't matter so much for me now, since my neck had no tattoos yet, but I didn't want to ever cut my hair. **

**She and Dimitri didn't say anything and walked along almost like it was any other day. When we arrived, the reactions of my peers indicated it was anything but. They were in the middle of setting up when we entered the gym, and just like in the commons, all eyes fell on me. I couldn't decide if I felt like a rock star or a circus freak."**

"Circus freak of course." The blonde, doll-like Moroi said to Rose.

"You would know." Rose retorted. Janie ignored them both.

**"All right, then. If I was going to be stuck here for a while, I wasn't going to act afraid of them all anymore. Lissa and I had once held this school's respect, and it was time to remind everyone of that. **

**Scanning the staring, openmouthed novices, I looked for a familiar face. Most of them were guys. One caught my eye, and I could barely hold back my grin."**

"Rose," Janine started, looking up from the book, "You should be more careful about the things that come out of you mouth."

"Mom, you must have realised that most of what comes out of my mouth is for effect. It's part of my personality. I can say what I want, with as much attitude as I want and no one expects anything of me." Janine looked at Rose disapprovingly for another couple of seconds, before returning to the book.

**"Hey, Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time."**

Eddie burst out laughing and I caught Mia staring at him. "Oh, Rose you do come up with the most ridiculous lines."

**"A few snorts and snickers broke the awed silence, and Mason Ashford snapped out of his haze, giving me a lopsided smile. With red hair that stuck up everywhere and a smattering of freckles, he was nice-looking, though not exactly hot. He was also one of the funniest guys I knew. We'd been good friends back in the day."**

"And how old are you exactly?" The dark haired, blued eyed boy asked, Christian I believe his name was.

"Figuratively of course Sparky."

**"This is my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session."**

**"Oh, yeah?" I retorted. "Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then." **

**"It's ****_always_**** a good time to think about you naked," added someone nearby, breaking the tension further. Eddie Castile. Another friend of mine." **

Eddie gulped as Zmey and Janine looked across at him. "Haven't said it yet?" He half said, half asked. Janine looked back down at the book, trying to find her place, but Zmey looked at Eddie for another couple of moments.

"Yikes," Adrian spoke up. "If I'm in these books, I'm going to say a lot worse and I don't want to be hunted down and dissected thanks, Abe." I almost choked, nobody dared to say that sort of thing to Zmey, ever. Not if they wanted to live anyway. Zmey laughed, I almost choked in surprise, eyes as wide as they would go. Zmey was legendary from where I came from.

**"Dimitri shook his head and walked off, muttering something in Russian that didn't sound complimentary. But as for me … well, just like that, I was one of the novices again. They were an easygoing bunch, less focused on pedigree and politics than the Moroi students. **

**The class engulfed me, and I found myself laughing and seeing those I'd nearly forgotten about. Everyone wanted to know where we'd been; apparently Lissa and I had become legends."**

"You two had the school in your palms. and then you left with no explanation. Of course you were legends." Eddie interrupted.

"Yes! Score!" Rose said, triumphantly as she pumped her fist in the air, Lissa laughed at her best friends antics. I wished that I had someone who knew me that well.

**"I couldn't tell them why we'd left, of course, so I offered up a lot of taunts and wouldn't-you-like-to-knows that served just as well.**

**The happy reunion lasted a few more minutes before the adult guardian who oversaw the training came over and scolded Mason for neglecting his duties. Still grinning, he barked out orders to everyone, explaining what exercises to start with. Uneasily I realised I didn't know most of them."**

**"Come on, Hathaway," he said, taking my arm. "You can be my partner. Let's see what you've been doing all this time."**

"I don't think I want to live through this." Rose groaned. "I can just imagine the pain now."

Her mother didn't seem to have any sympathy for her. "You shouldn't have run away, then should you." Dimitri was nodding along, I watched as Rose glanced at Dimitri and then away, upset as the disappointment so obvious on her face.

**"An hour later, he had his answer.**

**"Not practising, huh?" **

**"Ow," I groaned, momentarily incapable of normal speech. **

**He extended a hand and helped me up from the mat he'd knocked me down on - about fifty times. **

**"I hate you," I told him, rubbing a spot on my thigh that was going to have a wicked bruise tomorrow. **

**"You'd hate me more if I held back."**

"You can just imagine his grin now, can't you?" Rose asked Eddie.

Eddie laughed. "God, yeah. He'd be laughing his ass off at the sight of you unable to fight back against him. You always used to beat his ass - and the rest of ours too."

"Well, I was the best student, like, ever." She replied with a girl swish of her hair. Eddie laughed out loud again.

"Not anymore. I can't wait till it's my turn to put you on your ass."

"Oh, kinky." Adrian spoke up. Rose wrinkled up her nose. "Can you teach me a few moves, little dhamphir?" She stuck her tongue out at him.

**"Yeah, that's true," I agreed, staggering along as the class put he equipment back. **

**"You actually did okay." **

"What?" Eddie started. "From what we've just heard, he handed you, your ass."

Janine snorted with amusement.

**"What? I just had my ass handed to me." **

A few laughs were had around the room and Eddie pretended to be ashamed of himself. "Thinking like Hathaway - what has the world come to?" Janine just read over the top of his drama.

**"Well, of course you did. It's been two years. But hey, you're still walking. That's something." He grinned mockingly. **

**"Did I mention I hate you?"**

**He flashed me another smile, which faded to something more serious. "Don't take this the wrong way… I mean, you really are a scrapper, but there's no way you'll be able to take your trails in the spring-"**

**"They're making me take extra practise session," I explained. Not that it mattered. I planned on getting Lissa and me out of here before these practises really became an issue. "I'll be ready."**

**"Extra sessions with who?" **

**"That tall guy. Dimitri."**

**Mason stopped walking and stared at me. "You're putting in extra time with Belikov?"**

**"Yeah, so what?"**

"Glad to know my help is appreciated." Rose looked guilty at this announcement before defending herself.

"Again, people, this is in the future, me right now is not thinking this. By the way, I'm not going to like him if he's just dragged me back to the academy, now am I?"

**"So the man is a ****_god."_**

Dimitri seemed to be stunned at this announcement. His expression didn't give away if he was proud or annoyed by his status.

**"Exaggerate much?" I asked.**

**"No, I'm serious. I mean, he's all quiet and antisocial usually, but when he fights… wow. If you think you're hurting now, you're going to be dead when he's done with you."**

"Oh, fabulous. Something else to improve this already horrible day." Rose commented sarcastically. Her mother gave a short laugh again.

"Whoever wrote these books, knows you and your reactions very well."

**"Great. Something else to improve my day."**

Even I let out a small, quiet laugh at the similarity between book and real Rose.

**"I elbowed him and went on to second period. That class covered the essentials of being a bodyguard and was required for all seniors. Actually, it was third in a series that had started junior year. That meant I was behind in this class too, but I hoped protecting Lissa in the real world had given me some insight. **

**Our instructor was Stan Alto, whom we referred to simply as "Stan" behind his back and "Guardian Alto" in formal settings."**

"Rose," Janine broke in, "are you ever respectful towards your elders?"

"Erm… do you really want me to answer that?" She replied. Janine pursed her lips but made no comment.

**"He was a little older than Dimitri, but not nearly as tall, and he always looked pissed off. Today, that look intensified when he walked into the classroom and saw me sitting there. His eyes widened in mock surprise as he circled the room and came to stand beside my desk. **

**"What's this? No one told me we had a guest speaker here today. Rose Hathaway. What a privilege! How very ****_generous_**** of you to take time out of your busy schedule and share your knowledge with us."**

**I felt my cheeks burning, but in a great show of self-control, I stopped myself from telling him to fuck off. I'm pretty sure my face must have delivered that message, however, because his sneer increased. He gestured for me to stand up. **

**"Well, come on, come on. Don't sit there! Come up to the front so you can help lecture the class."**

"God, I hate Stan." Eddie broke in.

"He's one of the tops things I definitely don't miss." Rose agreed.

"He can't be that bad," Lissa said. Rose and Eddie stared at Lissa.

"Liss, he's picking on me right now and you're defending him?" She looked like she was questioning her best friends sanity.

**"I sank into my seat. "You don't really mean-"**

"He always means what he says." Eddie said in a somber tone.

"God bless whoever is his target for the duration of the class." Rose finished.

**"The taunting smile dried up. "I mean ****_exactly_**** what I say, Hathaway. Go to the front of the class."**

**A thick silence enveloped the room. Stan was a scary instructor, and most of the class was too awed to laugh at my disgrace quite yet. Refusing to crack, I strode up to the front of the room and turned to face the class. I gave them a bold look and tossed my hair over my shoulders, earning a few sympathetic smiles from my friends. I then noticed I had a larger audience than expected. A few guardians - including Dimitri -"**

"Do you always notice him?" Christian asked.

Rose shrugged. "How should I know?" She said. "He's obviously a main character or I wouldn't notice him."

**"lingered in the back of the room. Outside the Academy, guardian focused on one-to-one protection. Here, guardians had a lot more people to protect ****_and _****they had to train the novices. So rather than follow any one person around, they worked shifts guarding the school as a whole and monitoring classes. **

**"So Hathaway," said Stan cheerfully, strolling back up to the front with me. "Enlighten us about your protective techniques."**

**"My… techniques?"**

**"Of course. Because presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took an underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi threats."**

**It was the Kirova lecture all over agin, except with more witnesses."**

"Is he actually allowed to do that?" Janine asked the room in general, looking away from the book. No one answered her. "Or do people believe that my daughter deserves to by humiliated like that." Rose's mouth actually fell open, obviously there wasn't a lot of lost love between the two of them. Abe put a hand on Janine's arm, trying to calm her. Christian took the book out of her hand and continued to read.

**"We never ran into any Strigoi," I replied stiffly.**

**"Obviously," he said with a snicker. "I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive."**

**I wanted to shout that maybe I could have defeated a Strigoi, but after getting beat up in the last class, I now suspected I couldn't have survived an attack by Mason, let alone an actually Strigoi.**

**When I didn't say anything, Stan started pacing in front of the class. **

**"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she stayed safe? Did you avoid going out at night?"**

**"Sometimes." That was true - especially when we'd first run away. We'd relaxed a little after months went by with no attacks. **

**"Sometimes," he repeated in a high-pitched voice, making my answer sound incredibly stupid."**

Mia opened her mouth to say something, probably unkind, but stopped when she saw Janine's face.

**"Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night."**

**"Er… no."**

"Oh, Rose." Janine sighed. "You really don't help yourself, do you." Rose looked away, but not before I caught the sight of tears in her eyes. She was really hurt by her mothers constant disappointment in her.

**"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding. Oh wait, you wouldn't know that because ****_you weren't here._****"**

**I swallowed back more swear words. "I watched the area whenever we went out," I said, needing to defend myself. **

**"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegie's Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?"**

Just by looking at Rose I could tell that she didn't have a clue as to what they were. When I looked at Eddie, I saw him looking at her as if she should know.

**I didn't say anything.**

**"Ah, I'm guessing you used the Hathaway Glance-Around-When-You-Remeber-To-Method."**

**"No!" I exclaimed angrily. "That's not true. I watched her. She's still alive, isn't she?" **

**He walked back up to me and leaned toward my face. "Because you got ****_lucky_****."**

**"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there," I shot back. "It's not like we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound." **

"Actually, she has a point." Drimitri interrupted. "They didn't bump into any for two years while outside the academy. Maybe it isn't because it's safer, but because they managed to chose places that Strigoi rarely hunt in. I don't know, but we know that they didn't run into any. And that itself is odd." I could see Janine and Eddie nodding, as well as Abe. Rose remained silent, but I could see that it meant a lot to have someone on her side for once.

**"Safer? ****_Safer?_**** We are at war with the Strigoi! He yelled. I could smell coffee on his breath, he was so close."**

"Ewww, why are these books so graphic?" Mia asked, her nose wrinkled up in disgust. Eddie laughed.

"I wouldn't say there were graphic, but with Stan… whoever he picks on must accept the coffee fate."

**"One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even notice him - and he'd barely bread a sweat doing it. You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human, but you are nothing, ****_nothing_****, compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful. And do you know what makes them more powerful?"**

**No way was I going to let this jerk make me cry."**

Lissa touched Rose's arm, her face sad at the thought of her friend going through this session with her instructor.

**"Looking away from him, I tried to focus on something else. My eyes rested on Dimitri and the other guardians. They were watching my humiliation stone-faced. **

**"Moroi blood," I whispered. **

**"What was that?" Stan asked loudly. "I didn't catch it." **

**I spun back around to face him. "Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger."**

**He nodded in satisfaction and took a few steps back. "Yes. It does. It makes them stronger and harder to destroy. They'll kill and drink from a human or dhampir, but they want Moroi blood more than anything else. They seek it. They've turned to the dark side to gain immortality, and they want to do whatever they can to keep that immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies exactly like this one. There are Strigoi who have lived for thousands of years and fed off generations of Moroi. They're almost impossible to kill. And ****_that_**** is why Moroi numbers are dropping. They aren't strop enough - even with guardians - to protect themselves. Some Moroi don't even see the point of running anymore -"**

Christian paused for a moment and cleared his throat.

**"And are simply turning Strigoi by choice. And as the Moroi disappear…" **

**"… so do the dhampirs," I finished. **

**"Well," he said, licking sprayed spit off his lips. "It looks like you learned something after all. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester." **

That was something new. "Field Experience?" I asked the room in general. Eddie and Rose looked up.

"Only the best part of a novice's education!" Eddie exclaimed.

"You get assigned to a Moroi for half a semester and you have to guard and follow them around." Rose continued.

"As if you are a real guardian."

"And adult guardians monitor and test us with staged attacks and other threats." Both Rose and Eddie looked fully alert and over-excited now. I wondered where there self-preservation was.

"How you pass the field experience is almost as important as the rest of your grades combined. It can influence which Moroi you get assigned to after graduation." Eddie finished off.

"So…" Adrian started. "You get beaten up for half a semester and you call that the best part of your education." He drawled and he smiled over at me. "I want to know where there self-preservation is." I started. Isn't that what I had just thought a minute ago? How could I be similar to a creature of the dark?

"The funny part," Christian said. "Is that you get to listen to that explanation again, almost word for word."

**"Ouch. I spent the rest of that horrible class - in my seat, thankfully - replaying those last words in my mind. The senior-year field experience was the best part of a novice's education. We'd have no classes for half a semester. Instead, we'd each be assigned a Moroi student to guard and follow around. The adult guardians would monitor us and test us with stage attacks and other threats. How a novice passed that field experience was almost as important as all the rest of her grades combined. It could influence which Moroi she got assigned to after graduation. **

**And me? There was only one Moroi I wanted. **

Lissa and Rose shared a smiled. They truly were the closest friends I'd ever seen.

**"Two classes later, I finally earned my lunch escape. As I stumbled across campus towards the commons, Dimitri fell into step beside me, not looking particularly godlike-"**

Christian broke off, wheezing as he attempted to keep his laughter in. We all stared at him like he was a moron. He held up his hand, silently asking for a minute. When he recovered, he tried to keep a straight face.

**"not looking particularly godlike - unless you counted his godly good looks."**

And with that Christian burst into laughter again. Several others had a good giggle, while Rose went bright red and Dimitri didn't seem to know where to look. Lissa stared at Dimitri for a moment, and then whispered into Rose's ear. She snickered. Janine took the book out of Christians lap and continued with the chapter.

**"I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class?" I asked, not bothering with titles."**

"When do you ever?" Lissa asked.

"Point." Rose replied.

**"Yes."**

**"And you don't think that was unfair?"**

**"Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa." **

Rose looked down at the floor. Lissa placed her hand over Rose's. "I don't get why people insist on calling me by my full name, it's Lissa guys, okay? From now on, no more Vasilisa."

**"I looked down at the ground. "I kept her alive," I mumbled. **

**"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?"**

**The question was mean. I didn't answer and knew I didn't need to. I'd had another training class after Stan's, and no doubt Dimitri had watched me get beat up there too.**

"I can't wait to get you back to the Academy." Eddie said, grinning. "I am so going to pay you back for all those bruises you have given me over the years."

Rose flipped him off.

**"If you can't fight ****_them-_****"**

**"Yeah, yeah, I know," I snapped. **

**He slowed his long stride to match my pain-filled one. "You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?"**

**"Sure," I shrugged. "Now and then."**

**"You didn't join any teams?"**

**"Too much work. If I'd wanted to practise that much, I'd have stayed here."**

"Liar." Lissa said. "I know exactly how much you wanted to stay and yet you left everything behind for me."

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat, Liss."

Dimitri watched the girls with interest. I couldn't imagine loving someone like that, so much that you would give up everything to look after them. To put them first. But then again, from what I understood it was a mantra in a dhampir's life. _They come first_.

**"He gave me an exasperated look. "You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking."**

**"I'll be able to protect her," I said fiercely.**

**"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know - for your field experience ****_or _**** after your graduate." Dimitri's voice was low and unapologetic. They hadn't given me a warm and fuzzy mentor. "No one wants to waste the bond - but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lessons. You have me. Use us or don't. You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate - if you can prove you've worthy. I hope you will."**

**"Lissa, call her Lissa," I corrected. She hated her full name, much preferring the Americanised nickname."**

"That's all you got out of that?" Dimitri asked, stunned. I had been think the same thing.

"Maybe I didn't want to think about how far I had to go." Rose retorted.

"You should have still come up with something better than that." Janine said. Rose opened her mouth to argue, but Lissa touched her arm briefly and Rose shut up. Her face going blank. Guess that was a trick that all guardians learnt young.

**"He walked away, and suddenly, I didn't feel like such a badass anymore.**

**By now, I'd burned up a lot of time leaving class. Most everyone else had long since sprinted inside the commons for lunch, eager to maximise their social time. I'd almost made it back there myself when a voice under the door's overhang called to me.**

**"Rose?"**

**Peering in the voice's direction, I caught sight of Victor Dashkov, his kind face smiling at me as he leaned on a cane near the building's wall. His two guardians stood nearby at a polite distance. **

**"Mr. Dash-er, Your Highness. Hi" **

**I caught myself just in time, having nearly forgotten Moroi royal terms. I hadn't used them while living among humans. The Moroi chose their rulers from among twelve royal families. The eldest in the family got the title of "prince" or "princess." Lissa had gotten hers because she was the only one left in her line. **

**"How was your first day?" He asked. **

**"Not over yet." I tried to think of something conversational."**

"Oh, Rose being polite. How does that happen?" Eddie teased. Rose stuck her tongue out at him.

**"Are you visiting here for a while?"**

**"I'll be leaving this afternoon after I say hello to Natalie. When I heard Vasilisa - and you - had returned, I simply had to come see you."**

**I nodded, not sure what else to say. He was more Lissa's friend than mine.**

**"I wanted to tell you…" He spoke hesitantly. "I understand the gravity of what you did, but I think Headmistress Kirova failed to acknowledge something. You ****_did_**** keep Vasilisa safe all this time. That is impressive."**

**"Well, it's not like I faced down Strigoi or anything," I said.**

**"But you faced down some things?"**

**"Sure. The school sent psi-hounds once."**

"No we didn't." Dimitri argued, looking at Rose and Lissa intently. "Portland was the first time we found you."

The girls looked at each other. "Must have been before your time." Rose said, trying to find something to fit.

Dimitri shook his head. "I went over every single case file that was about you two and there was nothing about Psi-hounds. Why would we send them anyway? Why not just pick you up ourselves?"

Rose looked worried and Lissa terrified. "It's okay," Rose told her. "Everything's okay."

"What if someone really is-" Lissa started.

"Then I'll sort them out." Rose stated, calm and controlled. As Rose spoke and held Lissa, you could see her calming down and the faith that she had in Rose shone right through.

**"Remarkable."**

**"Not really. Avoiding them was pretty easy."**

**He laughed. "I've hunted with them before. They aren't ****_that_**** easy to evade, not with their powers and intelligence." It was true. Psi-hounds were one of many types of magical creatures that wandered the world, creatures that humans never knew about or else didn't believe they'd really seen. The hounds traveled in packs and shared a sort of psychic communication that made them particularly deadly to their prey - as did the face that they resembled mutant wolves. "Did you face anything else?"**

**I shrugged. "Little things here and there."**

**"Remarkable," he repeated. **

**"Lucky, I think. It turns out I'm really behind in all this guardian stuff," I sounded just like Stan now."**

Eddie snickered. "And, you just lost a lot of cool points."

Rose threw a cushion at him. He just laughed harder.

**"You're a smart girl. You'll catch up. And you also have your bond."**

"At least someone believes in me." Rose said, as if a strained martyr.

Lissa elbowed her. "I believe in you."

"You have to, you're my best friend." Lissa elbowed her again.

**"I looked away. My ability to "feel" Lissa had been such a secret for so long, it felt weird to have others know about it.**

**"The histories are full of stories of guardians who could feel when their charges were in danger," Victor continued.**

**"I've made a hobby of studying up on it and some of the ancient ways. I've heard it's a tremendous asset."**

**"I guess." I shrugged. ****_What a boring hobby,_**** I thought, imagining him pouring over prehistoric histories in some dank library covered in spiderwebs."**

"Maybe we could ask Uncle to give us some help. He might know things that will help us later on." Lissa said, speaking to Rose.

"Seems legit." She replied.

**"Victor tilted his head, curiosity all over his face. Kirova and the others had, had the same look when we'd mentioned our connection, like we were lab rats. "What is it like - if you don't mind me asking?"**

**"It's… I don't know. I just sort of always have this hum of how she feels. Usually it's just emotions. We can't send messages or anything." I didn't tell him about slipping into her head. That part of it was hard even for me to understand. **

**"But it doesn't work the other way? She doesn't sense you?"**

**I shook my head. **

**His face shone with wonder. "How did it happen?**

**"I don't know," I said, still glancing away. "Just started two years ago."**

**He frowned. "Near the time of the accident?"**

**Hesitantly, I nodded. The accident was ****_not_**** something I wanted to talk about, that was for sure. Lissa's memories were bad enough without my own mixing into them. Twisted metal. A sensation of hot, then cold, then hot again. Lissa screaming over me, screaming for me to wake up, screaming for her parents and her brother to wake up. None of them had, only me. **

**And the doctors said that was a miracle in itself. They said I shouldn't have survived.**

**Apparently sensing my discomfort, Victor let the moment go and returned to his earlier excitement. **

**"I can still barely believe this. It's been so long since this has happened. If it did happen more often… just think what it could do for the safety of all Moroi. If only others could experience this too. I'll have to do more research and see if we can replicate it with others."**

**"Yeah." I was getting impatient, despite how much I liked him. Natalie rambled a lot, and it was pretty clear which parent she'd inherited ****_that_**** quality from. **

Lissa snorted. "You getting impatient? So unlike you."

Eddie snickered. "No temper on her whatsoever."

Rose ignored the pair of them, holding her nose in the air.

**"Lunch was ticking down, and although Moroi and novices shared afternoon classes, Lissa and I wouldn't have much time to talk. **

**"Perhaps we could -" He started coughing, a great, seizing fit that made his whole body shake. His disease, Sandovsky's Syndrome, took the lungs down with it while dragging the body toward death. I cast an anxious look at his guardians, and one of them stepped forward. "Your Highness," he said politely, "you need to go inside. It's too cold out here."**

**Victor nodded. "Yes, yes. And I'm sure Rose here wants to eat." He turned to me. "Thank you for speaking to me. I can't emphasise how much it means to me that Vasilisa is safe - and that you helped with that. I'd promised her father I'd look after her if anything happened to him, and I felt like quite the failure when you left."**

"Oh, poor, poor uncle," Lissa whispered. Her eyes filling with tears.

"Hey," Rose said softly. "You'll see him soon enough."

**"A sinking sensation filled my stomach as I imagined him wracked with guilt and worry over our disappearance. Until now, I hadn't really thought about how others might have felt about us leaving. **

**"We made our goodbyes, and I finally arrived inside the school. As I did, I felt Lissa's aniety spike. Ignoring the pain in my legs, I picked up my pace into the commons. **

**And nearly ran right into her. **

**She didn't see me, though. Neither did the people standing with her: Aaron and that little doll girl. I stopped and listened, just catching the end of the conversation. The girl leaned toward Lissa, who seemed more stunned than anything else. **

**"It looks to ****_me_**** like it came from a garage sale. I thought a precious Dragomir would have standards." Scorn dripped off the word ****_Dragomir_****.**

**Grabbing Doll Girl by the shoulder, I jerked her away. She was so light, she stumbled three feet and nearly fell. **

**"She does have standards," I said, "Which is why you're done talking to her."**

"Ohhhhh, burn to Doll Girl." Adrian said.

"Sitting right here." Mia said. Disapproval dripping off of her words as she spoke to Adrian.

"Burn." Said Adrian again, dragging it out this time a smirk on his face.

I sniggered and Mia's glare found my face, shrinking back I attempted to hide from the all. I had momentarily forgotten what they all were.

_Dimitri's Point of View_

"Lissa." Rose whispered. I didn't look over, I was interested in what they had to say that they didn't want the rest of us knowing. "Dimitri has offered to be my mentor if we get back to the Academy." I didn't like this _if_ business. "But I think we can trust him with why we left."

"No." Lissa said.

Rose watched her for a minute obviously trying to get a read on her emotions. "Okay, but remember that it could come out in the book."

Lissa looked at Rose then, and I could see the anxiety in the set of her shoulders. "Don't tell anyone." Rose kept watching her for a moment and then nodded, leaning back into her seat.

"Hey Comrade," She suddenly said to me. I looked over at the way too young, far too beautiful dhampir. "You going to show me some badass mentor moves or what?" She smiled as she said it, not showing the worry and concern that had been evident just seconds before.

"You'll be running in circles to start with." I told her, keeping my professional mask up.

"No fun at all." She pouted.

"I'll read next," Eddie said to the room at large, interrupting our conversation.


End file.
